Drugs Policies

TNI has been working for a radical reform of international drugs policies since 1998 and runs an internationally respected Drugs and Democracy Programme. TNI's call for a new paradigm to tackle drug abuse based on harm reduction, effective alternative development programmes, revision of International Drug Control conventions and full respect for human rights has gained increasing support from civil society, governments and international institutions.

Afghanistan is the world's largest producer of opium, the raw material for heroin. In 2000, the Taleban regime enforced an opium ban that led to the virtual disappearance of opium poppy cultivation in areas under their control. In drug control terms, this is often referred to as an unprecedented success, yet the ban caused a major humanitarian disaster for hundreds of thousands dependent on the illicit economy.